Monday, May 31, 2010

My older brother and mother and I joined my younger brother for his first MD {Muscular Dystrophy }walk , we are going to make this a yearly event from now on , this local walk raised over $40,000.00 , which is amazing ,in only 2 days we raised $170.00 thanks to our family and friends, next year we will start fundraising much earlier , I didn't know about this walk until I read an article in the paper a few days earlier.

It was a nice time spent at the lake participating in a great cause.

I should probably mention my younger brother Brad pictured with me does actually have Muscular Dystrophy , he has Beckers MD , when he was young it was obvious things were not quite right , Brad walked like others but later he had a "different gait" and when he tried to run he would always fall it was like his legs were not made for running , he would always laugh it off , of course the doctors brushed it off , but my mom pushed on and finally at 10 years he was diagnosed with Beckers which is thankfully the mildest form of Muscular Dystrophy , they told us that he would be in a wheel chair by the age of 20 , he is now 34 and still not in a wheel chair , pushing his limits . I admire his strength and courage. You can read his story here at My Beckers Story

Thursday, May 27, 2010

It turns out that I am a collector , this was evident when my daughter spilled a glass of water on the tray on our ottoman where I keep two piles of decorating magazines, I leap and started flinging my mags out of harms way , some of these magazine are from the early 2000's , this is the only thing I really collect actually . One much loved magazine in my collection is this 2002 Country Home magazine , the home of Kimber Wysong has been a great source of inspiration for my current home , I actually got a hold of Kimber on Facebook , and she tells me they have long moved on from this lovely home and are now living in a "Beach House" .

Now this is a window box people , and the source of inspiration for mine , which I will admit is much more meek , but mine is not nearly as ample a window box.

I have always been a fan of a Tudor and this one so light and charming is perfection. This fence sealed the deal for me , it pushed the decision for me to tackle building our current picket fence right after we moved here in 2003.Actually after seeing this off center entry again maybe I should continue my fence and add an entrance arbour?? ok that's a blatant copy.

This is one of the first open shelving kitchens I did see , Kimber was a pioneer , and look at those gorgeous wood counters , they are cherry and the charming painted floors , her two little boys must be teenagers now , it is still as classic a home as ever , wouldn't you love to see her beach home ? I know I would too , I did ask if she would share some photos so I could share with you , I will keep trying , but I don't want to be too stalkerish ...

We are very much enjoying the early arrival of record breaking temps not since 1944 has it been this hot this early , the plants are just loving the warmth and sun , everything is blooming and sprouting in record time. I must say though I feel for the kids and teachers in school this time of year for the lack of air conditioning in the school makes for some sweltering class rooms, I dropped off a very powerful fan that was collecting dust in our basement , they surely can borrow it for the next four weeks of school , if the weather stays like this is is going to be a very long four weeks , I was up in my daughters class room this morning at 7:30 AM and it was so muggy I don't know how they could even stand it , I am glad we have the pool up for them to cool off in after school , freezies and swimming , nothing is more summery to kids.

I just had to show how my little corner of shame in my garden looks now that some time has passed , this is the sweet spot , I wish my whole garden looked this lush , I am working on it , my lovely friend has been donating her split hostas by the bucket full to me , I love a big hosta.

This photo was taken just 8 weeks ago , look how things improve over a short while , all the lovely perennials were just waiting to appear.

Everything is planted now , I went for a colorful scheme in the window box this year, I actually took a photo from a magazine of a window box I loved with me to the garden center and tried to do a scaled back version with similar plants I will add a few more plants I think , it will fill out and improve with time , I will show you the progress.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

I received some emails and photos yesterday , the first was from Susan in Ohio , she said that my pergola inspired her to create this over the garage pergola detail , which is amazing what a beautiful addition to this home , cheers to Susan !I want this exact design above my front window ...he comes another project.

Second was from Stacey who lives a couple of towns over , I did an in home consultation with her in her new home she had literally just moved in , she was so open to change , painting the cabinets removing the corner shelfy thing and curved bulkhead , I also suggested new butcher block counters and an over hang to create counter seating and beadboard of course , well her husband made quick work of a big project , this duo did a great job and now has a stunning kitchen and they have also added value to their home. Cheers to Stacey and hubby!!!

Look at that pretty bulkhead , added crown moulding and matching paint adds height to the room and a cohesive look . They added two pendant light , which look perfect there.

Maybe that center light could become pot lights ???

Gorgeous counters , I wonder how they are treating them?? They sure look great , and BTW they are from Ikea.

Monday, May 24, 2010

We spent the whole day yesterday slaving over this 16 foot diameter circle in the sweltering heat , trying desperately to level this spot out and removing all the grass then adding 20 bags of sand to make a nice even spot for the temporary pool , which the girls just love , I have very badly blistered hands to prove it , the things we do for those we love! Are any of you surprised that here in Canada it gets hot and we need pools to make it through ? I am always amazed there are people out there that think Canada is cold all year round , well its not we have four distinct seasons here this spring is actually feeling a lot like summer in fact is 80 degrees today ... that air conditioning needed to get fired up today , my husband can not handle the slightest bit of heat .

After living with a furniture grave yard in my dining room we decided to stick with our current black large dining table , the lovely oval table is pretty but I would need to add height to the legs and the top is really rough , I decided to keep it for myself in my workroom in the basement , it looks so nice down there , someone before me used it for a craft table too and I'm ok with that .

I found these lovely green coned shaped hanging baskets , I decided to plant a variety of purple flowers and trailing greens , which I admit look piddly right now , but will look great after a few weeks of growing.

Friday, May 21, 2010

During the house tour I was asked a few questions , so I thought I would answer them here

Like what is the color in the bedroom , the soft grey color , it is Fossil Grey by Glidden you can see a full tour here.

Also what is the bathroom color , well it is called Beach House by Debbie Travis , but since most of you don't live in Canada , I will suggest Ocean Air by Benjamin Moore which I used in a powder room for a client yesterday , it is perfection as far as blues go. You can find a little tour here.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

To some apparently this looks like garbage , to me this is a dream table , you don't get legs like that any more , apparently it is oak , and it is in need of obvious repair , and lots of tlc and only cost me $30.00 , If you recall we used legs from a table so similar to this one to create legs for the bathroom vanity and for my kitchen desk , you can see those creationshere.

Stay tuned for my little makeover, I will refrain for now and get back to painting my fence only about 100 linear feet to go , yippy , can you feel my pain ?

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Can you see what I have done ? , I have gone and shared my pretty light with my daughter , I think it looks perfect in here , I even got electrocuted doing it , can't figure out why that is , normally I can switch out lights without a jolt , but its like I am cursed or something ... a couple of things I would like to change here would be the carpet to painted white floors , well that is really it I guess.

I have shared and left myself with out a light at all , now I search for something old or something different , a one of a kind light , that won't make noise when a breeze is added , as pretty as those Capzi lights are if your husband likes a breeze and from my experience surveying most men do like the air to move especially in the summer months , this light will keep you awake at night.

Look at that me keeping it real showing you my unmade messy bed , don't fret , it is made now , I can't leave my bed unmade , it would drive me crazy , do you need to make your bed, EVERY DAY ?

Monday, May 17, 2010

While cleaning my youngest daughters room today I decided to lighten things up by removing the medium pink drapes leaving the windows just dressed with white bamboo blinds , I may pick up some crisp white cotton drapes , probably from Ikea , the tab top ones for $19.00 a pair , I will cut OFF the tabs , I don't like tab tops personally, they are just not my thing!

I like the paired down simple look , I can always store that rod.

I pulled out the Hawaiian themed PB kids duvet cover for the bed and some crisp rose bud sheets and pillows.

I love this room , it is so cheery and bright , I love the blue and soft pinks, I think I may take down the Wall Candy for a while , that is the nice thing about wall stickers , change your mind = easy fix.

So that's how I paired back for warmer weather , lightening things up by taking down the drapes and changing the duvet cover and sheets.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

You can't tell by this picture but these baskets are covered in moss and are the prettiest baskets I have ever seen , I was able to scoop up a few for my pergola and front porch too , the ones in the front are cone shaped , I will show you those later.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Welcome , did you want to take a peek inside , are there houses in your town you would just love to get a tour of ...just in case its mine come on in.

Let's start upstairs...

Here is the master bath

I wanted a little cottage charm

I still need to get a new sink and faucet these are so ugly

The bedroom , such a calm get away for me in very classic cottage style , it feels like summer all year round.

At the top of the stairs is this landing , usually loaded with basket of laundry to be put away...

Here is the "formal" living room , which is not formal at all , it is a real family space a great spot for movies , this is a favorite spot in the afternoon when the sun floods in , those windows are also a great spot for storm watching, actually this room sold us on the house with its soaring ceilings and open staircase.

The dining room , we do not use it nearly often enough.

The family room / great room combined kitchen space.

Command central...

The kitchen where I spend most of my day in and out doing all of my projects , the island is most often littered with tools...

And the back yard still a work in progress , just waiting for the wood to age a bit more before painting the pergola, I am going to build some shutters for the small kitchen window and add some more hanging baskets , set up the pool and enjoy the warm summer weather ...

So there was my little tour , front to back , I hope you enjoyed the visit , don't wait too long for your next visit , it was great having you by.